Fluid contactor structures are known in the art for use in chemical processes requiring intimate contact of fluids with an active compound, such as adsorption or catalysis processes for example. Exemplary known fluid contactor structures include ceramic honeycomb structures for exhaust gas catalysis, and packed bead or parallel plate adsorbent structures for adsorptive gas separation processes such as thermal and/or pressure swing adsorption processes. However, a shortcoming of certain of the parallel passage fluid contactor structures of the prior art relates to poor thermal characteristics of the structure. In particular, prior art parallel passage fluid contactors may have undesirably high thermal mass which may require an undesirably large thermal energy flux to effect a given temperature change in the structure, or may have undesirably low thermal conductivity which may result in undesirably large temperature differences within the structure, for example. Such undesirable thermal characteristics of certain parallel passage fluid contactors of the prior art may result in increased costs related to thermal regeneration of fluid contactors, and/or limited efficiency of chemical separations or reactions within the fluid contactors of the prior art.